National briefs

Assistant Treasurer
Bill Shorten
has released a discussion paper on the 2010-11 budget promise to halve the tax paid on interest. The proposed 50 per cent discount would apply from 2012-13 on up to $500 of interest on bank deposits, bonds and other interest-bearing accounts, rising to $1000 from July 2013. Mr Shorten said the discount, which was linked to the minerals resource rent tax laws, would encourage people to put money into savings. It would benefit more than 5 million taxpayers, he said. Submissions are due by Friday, August 5. Katie Walsh

Australian cities remained among the most affordable destinations for businesses operating in the Asia-Pacific region, despite the strength of the dollar, business consultants Mercer has found. In its cost-of-living survey covering 214 cities across five continents, Mercer found that Sydney jumped 10 places to 14th most expensive, while Melbourne was ranked 21, up from 33, and Perth surged 30 places to 30th spot. Tokyo, Osaka, Singapore and Hong Kong remained the most expensive cities in the region. “The Australian lifestyle is still very appealing," Mercer said. AAP

The federal government has reportedly finalised its asylum seeker swap deal with Malaysia. The two countries had struck a final agreement and would sign it by the end of the month, ABC reported. Under the deal, the government will swap 800 asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat for 4000 of Malaysia’s processed refugees. A spokesman for Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said: “We hope to be able to announce more in coming weeks."AAP

The Australian Defence Force has acknowledged shortcomings in the way it learns from its operations. Auditor-General
Ian McPhee
has published a report finding the ADF had a “patchy and fragmented" approach to capturing and acting on the lessons of the operations and exercises in which it took part. AAP